Blanketburied Tales
by OffCenterFold
Summary: It was bad enough the first time it happened - but it happened to him twice, and with two different people!  Years later, in the comfort and safety of distance, as the two couples revisit old memories, the truth comes out.  No sex; slight language.
1. Chapter 1

**Blanketburied Tales**

**Part 1: The Doctor's Tale **

When I first came up to Aizu three months earlier, I thought I was the luckiest doctor in Japan. Electric power was not a widely available commodity in the area at the time, but somehow the people who'd arranged the clinic had managed it. The light was brighter and steadier than gas lamps or candles, which was a major boon when I was stitching a wound or checking a patient's color. It wasn't entirely reliable this far north, however, and tended to go out in heavy storms.

I still couldn't imagine why Kensan and Kaoruchan had come up for a visit with Yahiko at this time of year. I was very glad to have them visiting, of course, but what possessed them to come to Aizu in the middle of winter was beyond me. The sudden snowstorms that sometimes sprang up were horrific, and I'd already told them in my letters about the joys of electricity – and the drawbacks.

Nonetheless, I was very glad to see my friends. Fortunately, there were no patients staying overnight at the time; otherwise it might have been very awkward.

The clouds had been threatening all day, and none of us thought anything of it. Kaoruchan had dragged Yahiko out to practice at one of the local dojo – and how she had found the thing so quickly was a little beyond me. Sometimes I think that girl is just a sweat magnet. No wonder Kensan hadn't yet made any serious moves towards her! Still, it was just a matter of time… But I didn't allow myself to think of it. It would happen all too soon, and as inevitable as I knew it was, that doesn't make it hurt any less.

Love is the one sickness no one can cure. But oh, how I wish I could!

I had been called away to help a woman giving birth, and Kensan had been kind enough to come with me. It was one of the reasons Kaoruchan had found her way to the dojo. I felt bad abandoning my guests, but they reminded me that they understood. I was never a very religious woman, but for a moment, I believed, just so I had someone to thank for friends like these. Kensan had proven himself invaluable once again, by keeping the patient's young children occupied as well as serving as my assistant. Her husband had invited us to stay there, but since it was only a twenty minute walk from the town, I thought we could make it. I also thought that perhaps he and his family would want to rest and spend time getting to know their new son and brother. The proud father had asked me to choose a name. I suggested Ryuusei.

Kensan, knowing I was honoring my father's memory, approved. That was more than I could say of his opinion of my choice of a route home.

Rather than take the winding but passable road, I believed we could save several minutes by cutting straight through the woods from the woodcutter's home directly to town. I should have known better. I knew how quickly the storms could pick up, and the going was already difficult from the snow already on the ground. Kensan was kind enough not to say anything at first, but it was already snowing when we left, and I did see the skeptical glance he gave the darkened heavens.

"It's not so far," I said for the eighth time in what must have been as many minutes. "We should be in sight of town by now." The only problem was that there was no visibility anymore. 

My kimono was soaked, and my feet were already numb. I knew that Kensan couldn't be in much better shape. He was mostly recovered from his last confrontation with Yukishiro Enishi, but he had not yet regained all of the strength that he would. I ought to have yelled at him for it, coming so far north in midwinter when he wasn't yet well, but I was so grateful to have him and the others there that I couldn't bring myself to do it.

And now we were out in the woods, lost. It was dark, I was freezing, and I did not dare speak again because I didn't want him to know I was crying.

I was so angry with myself, thinking words I would never say aloud, that I didn't even notice the tiny storage shed until I almost walked into it.

"Kensan… a building! There's got to be a door," I stammered between chattering teeth.

He was the one to find it, and it turned out that the tiny building was a woodshed. It wasn't very secure or sturdy but it was out of the snow and the wind, although it was quite cold. There was plenty of wood and only one rather dirty oilcloth to keep the pile dry from whatever rain might leak in through the roof.

In the back of my mind, that little annoying voice was laughing its head off. One of my newfound "friends" had made the unfortunate mistake of getting me interested in these horrid novels from England, translated into Japanese, about romance. I had always understood that the English were a very proper and repressed sort of people. The novels seemed to indicate otherwise, because all too often I had read of similar situations wherein the heroine and her dashing (but usually irritating) intended were stranded alone somewhere with no option but to keep each other warm through shared body heat.

And of course, that was exactly what was happening with Kensan right now. Of course, in those novels, all too often the scene would climax, if you'll pardon the expression, when "their passions aroused beyond reason" and they "surrendered to the moment." I prayed he'd never read any of those novels.

For one thing, I was far too cold, tired, achy, and generally irritable to even consider tossing away whatever was left of my virtue after Kanryuu. Even with Kensan. And even had I not been so thoroughly miserable, I still doubted that I would be able to do such a thing to him.

Whether or not I might have wanted to was irrelevant.

"Kensan, my kimono is soaking wet. I'm sure your clothes can't be dry either. Staying in them will only make us freeze faster." I tried to keep my voice calm although I felt like screaming. "We can use the oilcloth as a blanket to keep warm."

"There's only one."

"Yes."

"You take the blanket."

Why must he always be so infuriatingly formal? We might freeze to death and here he was being noble and self-sacrificing and kind and – completely himself. Oh, Kensan, why couldn't you be a selfish jerk like Sanosuke? "We're sharing the blanket, Kensan."

"You need it more."

"We both need it. Who was it who taught me that death was not the answer?" I flipped my hair at him, although he probably couldn't see it very well.

"Megumidono…"

"We are sharing this filthy thing as it is the only possible barrier between us and death. Don't be an idiot. You know as well as I do that with wet clothes, we'll both freeze to death unless we share what warmth we can. And that means sharing the blanket. And besides, do you think Kaoruchan would forgive either one of us if you died? Especially in such a stupid manner?" It was so hard to keep my tone light and cool. I was so tired, and so embarrassed. "Take off your wet clothes and come under the blanket." I started to do just that, thankful for the near pitch blackness of the tiny cabin in the night. It wasn't that I was ashamed of my body, as I had nothing about which to be ashamed. It was the situation.

"True," he said. He sounded resigned, but I could hear him beginning to follow my instructions. I managed to untie my obi somehow, although it had stayed a little dryer under my michiyuki jacket. My kimono, however, was wet nearly to my waist from the fall I had taken, and so I removed it gingerly. The thin underkimono, too, was probably ruined from the wetness. I left my underthings on as they were the only things that weren't wet, by some miracle.

I crawled under the dirty, ragged cloth and huddled against the woodpile. Still, I heard him hesitate.

"Megumidono, what you said just now, about Kaorudono…"

"Kensan…" I sighed. "You stayed in Tokyo. You left for Kyoto but you only said goodbye to one person. Then you went back to Tokyo because of her and stayed ever since. Even before that, I knew..."

"Oro?"

"You may not have acted on it, but it was always clear to the rest of us that you two… Care for each other. I have never pretended to myself that you might care for me, or want to… to be with me. I certainly have no intention of hurting her, or you." I took a deep breath. "Or myself. And I know you feel the same in that respect." I took another deep breath. It hurt to say these things; the truth hurt. This time, however, it was hurting me more, although with his kind heart, he would probably always remember that and regret it. "Do everyone a favor then, and shut up and get under the stupid blanket before I have to dose you with something. I think I have some mushroom mix here…" I reached for my satchel.

"Megumidono…" He didn't sound so impressed this time. Nonetheless, I felt him sliding in next to me. Being Kensan, he came around from behind me and kept me between himself and the woodpile, knowing I'd be slightly warmer that way. I curled up tightly. "Forgive this one. It was never meant that you should be hurt."

"Kensan?"

"Yes?"

"Do be quiet." I said it in my archest tone. I felt his soft half-laugh more than heard it, but he did not say anything else.

I lay quietly for several minutes, listening to his breathing and the howling of the storm outside. His respiration rate was slowing and I could tell he was beginning to doze. It was definitely less cold, though I couldn't say with any honesty that I was truly warm or comfortable. Closing my eyes, I felt a slow grin spread across my face. No, I wasn't going to try anything, no matter what Kaoruchan might think, but how could I be this close to him and let the chance go by?

"Kensan?"

He made a small sound of inquiry.

"I do hope that's your sakabatou," I said softly, teasingly.

"Oro!" He sat up quickly, taking the oilcloth with him.

I couldn't help it. I laughed, enjoying the small wickedness I'd permitted myself. It helped me, too, much to my surprise. He lay back behind me, covering us again and muttering something under his breath that I was reasonably sure wasn't something entirely polite. There hadn't been anything poking me, sakabatou or otherwise, and yet I still enjoyed getting that sort of a rise out of him. I'd had to say something. Even if I couldn't believe that there would be so much as a grain of truth in it, I had to reassure him that I truly was all right, that I understood, and that the pain would go away. Eventually.

Besides, blushing helped us get warmer.

I closed my eyes again and this time drifted off to sleep. I think he was still awake.

It was light when I arose, and Kensan was already up and beating the ice crystals out of our clothing. He had already dressed and was attending to my jacket when I finally opened my eyes. Even though there was very little actual light to see by in the shed, the chinks in the wooden walls allowed us to see that it was a bit after sunrise and that the day was clear. Kensan managed to open the door once I was dressed and we looked outside.

And then Kensan gave me a wordless look. We were in a woodshed that was maybe twenty feet away from the woodcutter's house at which I'd delivered a baby the day before.

The expression I returned to him was equally silent and equally eloquent.

"As far as anyone knows, we stayed in the home of the woodcutter and his family," I said. Kensan did not argue. "And I did not get lost in the snow and wind up right back here," I continued.

"Agreed," he said. I could tell he didn't particularly like it, but I for one did not relish telling Kaoru that I'd spent the night almost naked in his arms, alone in the dark, less than twenty feet from our starting point. I suspected he was no more enthusiastic about the prospect than I was. I shook my head. "Even that stupid bird-brain Sanosuke wouldn't have gotten this ridiculously lost," I berated myself.

"Oh, this one isn't so sure about that," Kensan said, a little too cheerfully. Oddly, he looked a little embarrassed.

I chose to ignore him and knocked on the door of the cottage. When the woodsman answered, he looked surprised to see me standing there.

"Thank you for your hospitality last night," I said. "Please, if anyone should ever ask, we stayed in the house, not the woodshed."

He looked utterly confused. "Why did you stay in the woodshed?"

"We didn't. We stayed here."

"Uhh, sure," he said, looking bewildered. His newborn son's cry distracted him and we took our leave, this time taking the road into town.

Kaoru and Yahiko, as it turned out, had spent the night at the dojo after all and didn't seem particularly worried about what had happened to us, once they established we were all right, and they took our story at face value. But they never came to visit during the winter again.

And now you know why I was so glad you never asked about it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Blanketburied Tales**

**Part II: The Fighter's Tale**

Six Months Earlier

Okay, I gotta say I did pretty good for myself in terms of finding myself some friends. Kenshin, Yahiko, Jouchan, the Kitsune, and the others we'd met definitely made my life a whole lot more fun and exciting. I kinda would have rather had it easy, but at least it was fun.

Also, kicking some serious serial killer ass was worth the extra effort. That Shishio guy was some piece of work, and what he did to my friends… Well, I don't doubt he got what he deserved – and spontaneous combustion is a nasty way to die. At least the way he did it, it was. But Kenshin and the others were talking about going back to Tokyo now and I still hadn't met his master. Of all of us, only the Kitsune hadn't, but she was pretty wiped. After all the fighting was over, she ran right out to Kyoto and spent all her time and energy fixing up the rest of us.

So it was just me and Kenshin walking away from town that summer afternoon. But when we got to the little clearing where Hiko Seijuurou made his home, he wasn't there. Kenshin called out, looked around, and generally made a nuisance of himself in order to try to drag the guy out of hiding, but it didn't work. It was getting dark, and the clouds were moving in fast. I was guessing we were in for some heavy rain.

"I think I saw a shortcut," I told Kenshin as we walked away from the cabin.

"Sano, there are no shortcuts."

"Nah, trust me, I'm sure I saw this little path that'll get us back to town faster."

Kenshin was shaking his head. "Sano, there really aren't any shortcuts."

"Come on, Kenshin." I didn't give him another chance to protest. I love the guy but he's always gotta be so by-the-damn-book about stuff! Sometimes I think he's almost as bad as that nutcase Saitou.

And damn him three times over for dyin'. Thinking about that guy bothered me. Thinking about him dead bothered me more.

I set off, knowing that Kenshin would follow me, because I was sure that the little path I'd seen was going to get us back a little faster, and I didn't like the way those clouds were moving. And it was getting dark. Kenshin was being quiet again. I think he was pissed at me, inasmuch as Kenshin ever gets pissed, for ignorin' him, but I think he understood, too. He's always good about stuff like that. The guy trusts me.

Sometimes I wonder why. Like that night… I shoulda been the one listening to him. He knew the area way better than me, but neither one of us expected the rain to hit as hard as it did.

There was only one river between Kyoto and Hiko's little shack, but when we finally found it, it was utterly uncrossable. The little stream was a raging torrent and there was no way we could swim across. I know because I tried. Kenshin was good enough to fish me out before I drowned, but neither one of us was very happy.

Kenshin remembered from his training days some little cave or something that he used to camp out in overnight. Somehow he managed to find it even though the rain was so heavy I couldn't see a damn thing. It wasn't even a cave, just a little overhanging rock barely big enough to fit under.

Then again, he's a lot shorter than me, so it must've been easier for him alone.

"Sano, you're shivering," he noticed. Okay, the night was pretty cool, and the rain wasn't helping. But I was not shivering.

"D-don't b-be rid-d-iculouss," I said. "'M n-not sh-shiverrrin'." I hated cold summer night rainstorms.

"This one is not the one being ridiculous," he said calmly. I hated when he sounded all calm in a crisis like that. "There should be…" I felt him moving around. "Yes, there is. A blanket was stashed here years ago. It seems to be holding up," he said. I heard him sniff, then sneeze. "Sort of."

"I'm f-fine," I spat out.

"Sano, we're both soaked through." I heard him take a deep breath. He probably felt like hitting me and if someone made me, I'd've had to admit I probably wouldn't blame him. It really was my fault for insisting on my stupid shortcut. But he didn't HAVE to listen to me… He was saying something else. "We'd better take off our clothes and hang them up. Usually rainstorms like this end quickly; our clothing should be fairly dry by morning."

Whoa. It had never occurred to me to think of him that way. I mean, Kenshin is my friend, but he's a guy. I just don't think of guys in that way. He probably would've made a really hot babe, and then I'd probably have been totally nuts about him – the way all the girls were now. But it never occurred to me that he might see me that way – and this was one hell of a way to find out! I prayed really hard that it wasn't the case. It was just too… TOO weird.

I shook my head. "I'm FINE!" I insisted, crossing my arms over my chest. I felt a little ridiculous, but there was no way I was going to get naked with another man. Just NO WAY.

He was already loosening the sash of his hakama. "If you don't, you'll get sick, and can you imagine what Megumidono would say?"

DAMN the man! Why did he have to aim so low? It was bad enough that the Kitsune always insulted my intelligence… Okay, I'm no doctor, but I'm not stupid. I get lost a little, sometimes, and I kinda have a temper, but I'm no idiot. And damn Kenshin for being right. If I got sick over something so ridiculous, I'd never hear the end of it.

I shrugged out of my gi and reluctantly undid my own sash. Kenshin took my clothes and hung them on nearby branches with his own. I crawled under the blanket.

Then I realized something.

"You're gonna get sick, too."

"This one will be fine."

"Kenshin, stop actin' like me." I sighed. The damn man was so exasperating. I wondered what Jouchan saw in him. And the Kitsune, too. "Get under the damn blanket." I held up one corner for him as I heard him crawl back into the cave. The rain was already beginning to slow down.

Silently, he climbed in next to me. "You better not enjoy this," I muttered.

"Oro?"

"Nothin," I muttered again, turning away from him.

He lay down, his back to mine, close enough that I could feel his body heat but not too close. Thank whatever deities were out there. "Sano… This one does not like men." His voice sounded funny. Choked, a little.

"That's good," I said, trying to sound calm. "I don't think Jouchan would take it well if you did."

"Oro…"

"Oh, come off it, Kenshin. She's been crazy about you since I met you guys. It's pretty damn obvious."

"This one was aware of that, Sano. It wasn't known that you were, too."

I snorted. "What, you too? Bad enough the Kitsune thinks I'm stupid."

"This one does not think you're stupid, Sano."

I snorted and closed my eyes, hoping to sleep.

When morning came, we returned to Kyoto. And that was all. Really. No, really. What're you lookin' at me like that for?

And to think I was just sayin' that I found such good friends.


	3. Chapter 3

**Blanketburied Tales**

**Part 3: The Wanderer's Tale **

The night in Aizu is well remembered, pretty much as Megumidono told it. What she would not remember is how we were lying when this one awoke… Grateful that she slept through it, though, because the dreams had were not of Kaorudono. Or Tomoe.

That was a long time ago, and Megumidono was always very beautiful. My heart has always been faithful. The body's whim is not so easily suppressed, but control was always maintained.

To this day, she is lovely when she blushes.

No one needed to know about that. But then again, they didn't need to know about that night outside of Kyoto either. And yet here we are, reminiscing about such embarrassing moments. It's a good thing that Shishou isn't here, because he would never let this one live any of this down. He always was good at remembering the embarrassing things.

That might be from whom such things were learned. It's true, what Sano said, about his reaction to spending the night together under a single blanket. He feared that this one might be coming on to him. Honestly, the thought had never occurred. Back during the days of the bakumatsu, there had been such invitations offered, but never accepted. This one's preference is very definitely for women.

One woman, specifically.

That is a promise.

No, truly, nothing untoward ever happened in Aizu.

Kyoto, however, was another story.

Not that anything untoward happened with Sano! But he did not simply close his eyes and roll over to sleep as he said he did. This one did indeed say that he did not think Sano was stupid, and Sano did indeed snort in derision. Unfortunately, this one then made the mistake of asking why Megumidono's assessment bothered him so...

"It doesn't bother me."

"Then why did you get so upset?"

"I'm NOT upset!"

"Sorry, Sano, but this one has to disagree."

"I'm NOT UPSET, DAMMIT!" At this one's back, Sanosuke was pure tension. He was no longer shivering with cold, but he was near to quivering with rage, or perhaps frustration.

"Maa, maa, you don't have to yell."

"I don't CARE what the damned Kitsune thinks of me, okay? I don't want ANYONE thinkin' I'm stupid. I ain't stupid." He paused for a moment. "It's not like she's so perfect or anythin', anyway."

That was when what he said next was remembered; there was more than one reason he had not continued the story.

Back then, it seemed Sanosuke had been fighting his attraction to "the onnasensei" for three reasons.

First, her past had still bothered him on some level. Though we knew beyond question that she had been under duress, and would rather have given up her own life than continue, she had still been the maker of opium for Takeda Kanryuu's operation.

Secondly, she intimidated him. Not that Megumidono didn't intimidate us all to varying degrees…

But the third was the hardest reason for Sano to handle: her feelings for another man. Sanosuke's own best friend.

It was never any secret that Megumidono cared for this one, although what was done to engender such feelings in anyone will never be understood. Megumidono, Tomoe, or Kaorudono.

Then again, it is not understood why what Sano said then was so important… But if you insist.

"It's not like she's so perfect or anythin', anyway. Just because she's a gorgeous doctor… Didn't do her a damn bit of good against that –" Well, what Sano said is not going to be repeated exactly, but it was a rather long and colorful description of Kanryuu.

Then he continued. "And it doesn't matter, Kenshin, because the Fox is about as crazy over you as Jouchan is. Honestly, I don't see how you can possibly choose her over the Kitsune. Look at them. Jouchan's just a girl. Megumi's all woman under that vixen act."

"Oro?" Were the words heard the same ones coming from Sanosuke's mouth? It was no more a surprising revelation than the one about Kaorudono's feelings – after all, Megumidono never bothered to be subtle about her feelings – but it sounded like Sanosuke was admitting jealousy. At the time, it was quite unusual, given that Sano was not prone to admitting his softer emotions.

"Oh, stop actin' like me, Kenshin, because we all know you're not as dumb as you act."

"This one does not act dumb." It came out as a mutter. That had hurt.

He snorted again. "Yeah, nice try. With that big fake smile you paste on your face all the time, hiding your real feelings. Stop underestimating your friends, Kenshin."

"Sano, has this one ever given you cause to believe you were being underestimated?"

"I –" but he stopped, and thought for a long time. It sounded as though he was falling asleep, and these eyelids had grown heavy as well. The rain had stopped but it was late.

When he finally spoke again, he sounded subdued. "No. You never have. You've always treated me – all of us – with respect."

"That is because it has been earned."

"Heh. Thanks. So which one are you gonna choose?" Now he was trying to keep his tone neutral.

"Choose?"

"Jouchan or the Kitsune?"

"Why does there have to be a choice?" Even now it is uncertain whether it was Sano's mind that was being messed with, or this one's own.

"Easy. You can't have both women." Sano sounded amused, then. "Not that I think I'd mind. Jouchan may only be a girl, especially next to the medicine box, but she ain't half bad either. Not that either's the little wifely type, really. Come to think of it, I can't see either one of them bein' all sweet and attentive like a wife should." He began snickering. "If anyone in our circle is, Kenshin, you're the most likely candidate for a wifely character!"

It is not known how this one's elbow planted itself so firmly in his ribs. It can only have been an accident.

"Oiy! Kenshin, that hurt! You've got some bony elbows, man!"

"Go to sleep, Sano."

"You didn't answer the question."

"There is no answer."

"Sure there is. Jouchan, or the Kitsune?"

"What if this one doesn't choose?"

"They'll probably kill each other. Or possibly you."

He had a point. "Go to sleep, Sano."

He was snickering for a long while before he did finally fall asleep, but what he had said had hit home. Kaorudono and Megumidono both had feelings for the same person. This unworthy one did not know what to do. It was true that Kaorudono had come to Kyoto to be by this one's side, but Megumidono could have come as well – and instead chose to keep her promise and her faith in this one. Did that perhaps mean that Kaorudono's faith was less firm than Megumidono's? Did it mean she felt more strongly than the older woman?

It was a long time before this one fell asleep that night.

When morning came, this one was first to awake, and waking up was extremely uncomfortable.

If we are going to be honest, Sano, we must be completely honest. Stop looking at this one like that.

It seemed that sometime during the night, Sanosuke had gotten less uncomfortable with the idea of sharing the blanket. So much so, in fact, that he was curled up around this one.

_"I was COLD!"_

Don't interrupt, Sano. It's rude.

_"Stop smirking, damn it."_

He was curled up around this one with his arm securely around this one's waist. It was extremely awkward, although it must be admitted that it was also much warmer than it might have been. It seems he was dreaming, although this one is reasonably sure he was not the subject of the dream.

Your wife wants to know, Sano. You may as well tell her the truth. If you won't tell her, I will.

While this one was extracting himself from Sanosuke's grip, he spoke in his sleep.

"Oiy, Kitsune, get your warm self back here..."

Now, who else could he have been dreaming about?

It took some doing, but this one was able to extricate himself and get dressed before Sano woke up. He dressed quickly, not saying anything.

We started walking back towards Kyoto. Fortunately, the river was low enough to cross again. Neither one of us spoke until we had passed that point.

"Are you going to say anything?"

"About what?" he asked.

He did not acknowledge the significant glance. "Well, nothing needs to be said about the visit, since there was no visit, and the river hardly seems worth discussing unless you get sick... So what about your dream?"

"What dream?"

"You said something interesting when this one woke up. Something about a Kitsune?"

"It was just a dream, Kenshin. Besides. Once we get back to Tokyo, you know she's been talkin' about goin' back to Aizu. There's nothing to discuss."

And this one never spoke of it again, until after Sano returned from traveling around the world. But judging by the way your wife is looking at you now, Sano, that wasn't this one's best decision. You might have had an easier time of it if something had been said sooner.

It's just a thought. Things worked out well in the end, after all.

This one is just glad there were no more nights alone in stormy weather with anyone else. Things could have gotten awkward.


End file.
